Backpack and some questions.

[PhotoRebel4]

I recently purchased a Crumpler 6MDHB and love it... for some things. It's just not a good bag for walks/hikes. So I'm looking for my 3rd camera bag in 2 years (my first bag was a Lowepro Slingshot and I'll never get a sling bag again).

That said, here's my requirements:

- Comfortable. That's a must for half-day or full day trips.
- Hold my gripped XSi, 300mm f/4 (attached or not), and 4 more lenses. (50mm, 100mm macro, and kit lenses).
- Fitting my 430EX-II would be nice, but not a must.
- Must have tripod attachment for my 055XPROB, preferably centered.
- Easy and quick camera access is important, although not a deal breaker if the bag fits my other requirements well. I loved the quick access of the Slingshot bag.
- I'd like to stick around $150, although I usually go over budget.
- Laptop isn't a big deal, as I really don't find the need to take it with me.

I've been looking and have really liked a lot of the features on the Kata bags, but it seems the features I like are scattered throughout the bags: Quick access of the 3n1 and Bug bags, good storage on the Bumblebee 220-PL and Minibee 120-PL (more than I need on both, which is good), and the tripod holders on them all.

Also looking at the Tamrac Evolution 8, whose tripod holder looks like it wasn't meant for a decent tripod. The Clik Elite Pro Express, which has some neat features. I've also looked at some of the Lowepro bags as well. Which leads me to some of my specific questions:

I'm liking the Kata Minibee 120-PL, but my big concern is that Kata says it will fit a DSLR without grip. Does anyone have this bag, how do you think a gripped XSi will fit, as it isn't all that big? Without the grip the XSi is about an inch shorter than say the 7D. Maybe I'm just hoping, because with the rebate bring it into my budget (sort of), the Minibee seems like a good bad that I can still grow into, even though the ease of camera access isn't the best.

I also don't know how big of deal having a backpack without quick camera access really is going to be. My probably is that I don't always have a place to take the backpack off and set it down to open the whole thing up and get my camera.

Has anyone used the Clik Elite Pro Express or their other products? Opinions?

Any other bags I should take a look at?

Sorry for such a long drawn out post, but my head is spinning with all the options, models, and features out there.

[inkista]

Have you taken a spin through cambags.com? It's mostly crowd-sourced reviews of specific camera bags, and a lot of folks upload pics of their bags, fully loaded, so you can get a decent idea of what fits in each one.

[brianxlt]

I have an extremely bad back (four blown disks) and I have found that I can walk around most of the day with a large load and very little discomfort. If I need more than I can fit on my harness set-up I will carry a small shoulder bag for those items. With the harness I can carry my camera in front and lenses, flashes and a pouch for smaller items very efficiently and have ready access to all.

http://www.amazon.com/Lowepro-Utilit...169777&sr=1-43

not the one I have but close.

[sk66]

It's always a tradeoff. I currently use a Mountainsmith Odyssey. Discontinued but similar to the Parallax Pro. It's HUGE but I can carry everything reasonably comfortably. Backpacks are generally hot to wear and harder to access. You might be best suited by a Lowepro Fastpack, but tripod carry might be an issue.

[PhotoRebel4]

Originally Posted by inkista

Have you taken a spin through cambags.com? It's mostly crowd-sourced reviews of specific camera bags, and a lot of folks upload pics of their bags, fully loaded, so you can get a decent idea of what fits in each one.

I hadn't seen that site before. Thanks! It's a nice site that I'm sure I'll be spending some time on.

Originally Posted by sk66

It's always a tradeoff. I currently use a Mountainsmith Odyssey. Discontinued but similar to the Parallax Pro. It's HUGE but I can carry everything reasonably comfortably. Backpacks are generally hot to wear and harder to access. You might be best suited by a Lowepro Fastpack, but tripod carry might be an issue.

I'll check out the Mountainsmith backpack as well, thanks!